Tracy Beaker legend Dani Harmer was in labour for five days
Actress Dani Harmer admits she was traumatised by the birth of her first child and it influenced her decisions when she got pregnant with her second child.
Dani Harmer, best known for her role as the iconic Tracy Beaker, has opened up about the traumatic birth of her first child - revealing she was in labour for five days before getting an emergency caesarean-section. She spoke about the experience to Vanessa Feltz on weekday Channel 5 show Vanessa, where she admitted that the experience left her fearing for her life.
She told the show host: "I was in labour for five days. I then had to have an emergency C-section, which was really, really scary." Dani added that while the ordeal is a bit of a blur to her now because of the medication she was on while giving birth, the emotional toll it took affected her for a long time.
Dani shared: "I don't remember much of it because I was drugged up on a lot of different things, but it was an experience I really didn't want to have to repeat. So when we fell pregnant with my second, I really wanted to go for an elective caesarean."
Although she originally had a firm stance on wanting to deliver via operation, Dani said she faced pressure to try and give birth naturally the second time around.
At the time she hit back, saying: "Unless you can guarantee me that I'm going to give birth naturally, one hundred per cent, then otherwise I will want an elective one."
The traumatised actress added: "If I think back to that first birth, I can almost cry about it, and it took a really long time to get over it." Dani, now 36, shot to fame in the early 2000s playing fiery schoolgirl Tracy Beaker. She later reprised that role on various spin-offs, including Tracy Beaker Returns, The Beaker Girls and most recently, The Dumping Ground.
She made her directorial debut on the last series, which is a challenge she decided to embrace after shadowing directors on set. While speaking to the BBC about her return to the franchise, Dani said: "It is so good to be back and making a cameo as Tracy, she's been a part of my life for over 20 years now, but I'd quite happily play her forever!"
Off-screen, Dani is also a devoted mum of two. Her daughter, Avarie-Belle, now eight, has mixed feelings about her mum's famous role.
While she is a fan of Jacqueline Wilson's books and spin-off shows like The Dumping Ground, she wasn't exactly blown away by the original Tracy Beaker show.
Dani laughingly recalled: "I tried to show her a bit of Tracy Beaker, but she was like, 'Mum, this is really boring.' I was like, 'How dare you!' Hopefully, she'll sit down and watch the OG series one day."
On top of acting, Dani runs the Dani Harmer Academy, which is a LAMDA certified performing arts school that helps aspiring actors build confidence on and off screen.
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